Part 3
Harvey Birch, the hero of _The Spy_, is a portrait from the life of a revolutionary patriot who appears in the book as a peddler with a keen eye to trade as well as to the movements of the enemy. One of the best known incidents in the book is that in which Harvey, by a clever stratagem, assists Capt. Wharton to escape. James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851) was born at Burlington, N.J., but was reared in the wild country around Otsego Lake, in central N.Y., on the yet unsettled estates of his father. It was here he learned the backwoods lore, which in combination with his romantic genius, made him one of the most popular of authors.
Among the literary residents of Tarrytown have been Mrs. E. D. E. N. Southworth, well known to a previous generation for her romantic novels, John Kendrick Bangs, the humorist, and Hamilton Wright Mabie, editor and essayist. Carl Schurz (1829-1906) is buried here in the Sleepy Hollow churchyard. Tarrytown is the trading center of a prosperous agricultural region; it also has about 100 manufacturing establishments with a large output. Just north of Kingsland Point (seen at the left, on the east bank of the river), the seat of William Rockefeller comes into view on the right, and behind it, among the hills, is the estate of his brother, John D. Rockefeller.
John D. Rockefeller was born in 1839 at Richford, Tioga Co., N.Y., but his family moved to Cleveland while he was still a boy, and his career was begun there. In 1858 he went into the produce commission business, and 4 years later his company invested in an oil refinery. Mr. Rockefeller kept constantly adding to his influence and possessions in this field until by 1872 the Standard Oil Co. was organized with him as president, and a practical control of oil production in America was secured. This was the first great American "trust." Mr. Rockefeller himself retired from active business in 1895. While his wealth is enormous, his benefactions have been on an equal scale, comprising gifts to the Baptist Church, the founding of educational institutions and the supporting of those already existent. Scientific research in medical fields has been a particular object of his generosity.
Mr. Rockefeller's country estate is called "Kijkuit," meaning look-out--a name given by the early Dutch settlers to the beautiful hill on which it stands, and which, rising to a height of 500 ft., gives a lovely view up and down the Hudson, across to the distant mountain ridges of N.J., and inland over Westchester County. The house and gardens are famous not only for their splendour, but for the priceless works of art they contain. Among the treasures which have been worked in as details of the landscape gardening is a fountain which for years has been considered unrivalled by experts. The huge basin, 20 ft. 8 in. in diameter, was cut from a single block of granite weighing 50 tons and brought on the deck of a schooner from an island on the Maine coast to the dock at Tarrytown. The heroic figure at the top represents Neptune, and the figures below symbolize the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans.
In the "morning garden" at the rear of the house is a bronze Victory (a facsimile of the Pompeiian Victory at Naples), which stands on a marble column with a Byzantine capital brought from Greece. The 13th century relief set in the wall of the pergola at the left came from a church in Venice.
Descending a flight of steps to the westward, one comes upon the Aphrodite temple. The style of this is Graeco-Roman, with columns of marble supporting a dome decorated after the fashion of the portico niches in the Massimi palace in Rome, which was designed in the 16th century by Baldassare Peruzzi. Under a roof of copper and bronze, on a high pedestal, stands "Aphrodite," resembling the Venus de Medici, but so superior to her in line and proportion that many critics believe it to be a Praxitilean original from which the Venus de Medici was clumsily copied. This is the greatest art-treasure in the garden.
30 M. OSSINING, Pop. 10,739. (Train 51 passes 9:15a; No. 3, 9:34a; No. 41, 1:48p; No. 25, 3:30p; No. 19, 6:21p. Eastbound: No. 6, passes 8:34a; No. 26, 8:54a; No. 16, 3:11p; No. 22, 4:36p.)
Ossining was first settled in 1700, when it was part of Philipse Manor. It was originally called Sing Sing, taking its name from the Sin Sinck Indians, but in 1901 the name was changed to Ossining, on account of its association with the Sing Sing prison, which can be seen to the left near the water's edge. The prison is a low white-marble building, built in 1826. Ossining has a public library, several private schools, the Roman Catholic Foreign Missionary Seminary of America, and a soldiers' monument.
Passing the Croton aqueduct (on the right), which is carried over a stone arch with an 80-foot span, the train crosses the mouth of the Croton River and intersects Croton Point. It was at the extremity of this peninsula that the British sloop-of-war "Vulture" anchored when she brought Andr['e] to visit Benedict Arnold at West Point. Six miles up the Croton River is the Croton Reservoir, which supplies a large share of N.Y. City's water. Across the river is Haverstraw Bay.
At the north end of Haverstraw Bay, on the west bank, is Stony Point Lighthouse, the site of a fort which was the scene of one of the most daring exploits of the Revolutionary War. Gen. Anthony Wayne (1745-1796) had been forced, through political necessity, to relinquish his regular command, and on the recommendation of Washington, he organized a new Light Infantry Corps, with which on the night of July 15, 1779, he stormed the fort and recaptured it from the British at the point of the bayonet. This well-planned enterprise aroused the greatest enthusiasm through the country, and won for him the popular name of "Mad Anthony." Later, in war with the Indians on the frontier, Gen. Wayne further distinguished himself.
At this point is the greatest width (4 M.) in the river's course. Shortly before reaching Peekskill we pass Verplanck's Point (on the left), near which the "Half Moon" dropped anchor, Sept. 14, 1609.
40-1/2 M. PEEKSKILL, Pop. 15,868. (Train 51 passes 9:36a; No. 3, 9:55a; No. 41, 2:09p; No. 25, 3:50p; No. 19, 6:43p. Eastbound: No. 6 passes 8:13a; No. 26, 8:33a; No. 16, 2:47p; No. 22, 4:14p.)
Peekskill means Peek's creek, and was named from the Dutch mariner, Jans Peek, who established a trading post here in 1760. It will be noticed that the Hudson turns abruptly to the left at this point, while the creek branches off to the right. According to tradition, the adventurous Jans, who had been voyaging up the Hudson, became confused and turned to the right, following the creek with the idea that it was the main river, until his boat ran aground. As a result of this accident he chose the spot to set up a trading post. During the latter part of the Revolutionary War Peekskill was an important post of the Continental Army; and in Sept. 1777, the village was sacked and burned by the British. To the north of Peekskill are Manito Mts., where the N.Y. National Guard has its summer encampment on a high cliff overlooking the river. The summer home of Henry Ward Beecher was in Peekskill, and ex-Senator Chauncey M. Depew was born here.
Peekskill on the east side of the Hudson, and Dunderberg Mt. (865 ft.) on the west, stand at the lower gate of the Highlands, so named from the steeply rising hills which border both sides of the river for the next 16 M. At the foot of Dunderberg Mt. is Kidd's Point, one of the numerous places where the notorious pirate is supposed to have concealed treasure.
Our train passes too close to the hills on the east bank to give a perspective, but on the west, where the Highlands are visible across the Hudson, the outlook is very beautiful. This part of the Hudson, often compared to the Rhine, has always been a source of artistic and poetic inspiration.
Close to Dunderberg Mt. the river takes a sharp turn to the left, and just beyond the mountain can be seen Iona Island (near the west bank), now occupied by the U.S. Government as a naval arsenal and supply depot. Between the island and the eastern shore the river is so narrow that this stretch is spoken of by boatmen as "The Race." A short distance farther on the west bank is Bear Mt. Park, originally the gift of Mrs. E. H. Harriman, which has been set aside by the Interstate Palisade Park Commissioners as a vacation resort for the poor. Our train presently passes by tunnel under the mountain known as "Anthony's Nose" (900 ft.), so named, according to Diedrich Knickerbocker, from the "refulgent nose" of Anthony van Corlear, Peter Stuyvesant's trumpeter. Across the river is visible the mouth of Poplopen creek, on the north side, Ft. Clinton.
These two forts were involved in the important maneuvers of 1777, when the British, under Sir Henry Clinton, executed a brilliant enterprise northward up the Hudson; they broke through the chains which the Americans had stretched across the river in the hope of checking the advance of British warships, captured Ft. Clinton and Ft. Montgomery and destroyed the fleets which the Americans had been forming on the river.
Three M. farther (on the right) is Sugar Loaf Mt. (765 ft.), noteworthy as the place from which Benedict Arnold, whose headquarters were in the Beverley Robinson House, near the south base of the mountain, made his escape to the British man-of-war "Vulture" (1780) after receiving news of Andr['e]'s capture. On the west shore near Highland Falls stands the residence of the late J. Pierpont Morgan, standing somewhat back from the river and partly hidden by trees.
John Pierpont Morgan (1837-1913) was born in Hartford, Conn., a son of Junius S. Morgan, who was a partner of George Peabody and the founder of the house of J. S. Morgan & Co. in London. After his university training at G[:o]ttingen, he began his career in the financial world, and by 1895, as the head of J. P. Morgan & Co., was the greatest American financier. His banking house became one of the most powerful in the world, carrying through the formation of the U.S. Steel Corporation, harmonizing the coal and railway interests of Pennsylvania, purchasing the Leyland line of Atlantic steamships and other British lines in 1902, effecting an Atlantic shipping combine, reorganizing many large railways, and in 1895 supplying the U.S. government with $62,000,000 in gold to float a bond issue and restore the treasury surplus of $100,000,000. Mr. Pierpont Morgan was a prominent member of the Episcopal church, a keen yachtsman, a generous patron of charitable and educational institutions, and a notable art and book collector. As president of the Metropolitan Museum he gave or loaned to it many rare and beautiful pictures, statues, and art objects of all kinds. A memorial tablet was recently unveiled in his honour at the museum.
Buttermilk Falls (100 ft.) are visible on the west bank after a heavy rain; the buildings on the bluff above belong to Lady Cliff, a school for girls.
49 M. WEST POINT (Garrison). (Train 51 passes 9:46a; No. 3, 10:04a; No. 41, 2:19p; No. 25, 4:00p; No. 19, 6:55p. Eastbound: No. 6 passes 8:01a; No. 26, 8:20a; No. 16, 2:34p; No. 22, 4:00p.)
Across the river from Garrison, the imposing buildings of West Point, the "Gibraltar of the Hudson," come into view. The name "West Point" properly belongs to the village located here, but in ordinary usage it refers to the U.S. Military Academy,* America's training school for officers, which at the present time has about 1,000 cadets.
The academy occupies a commanding position on a plateau 150 ft. above the river. As we approach, the power house is in the foreground, with the riding school, a massive building just beyond, while the square tower of the Administration Building dominates the scene on the level of the parade ground above. West Point was first occupied as a military post during the Revolutionary War. In Jan. 1778, a huge chain, part of which is still preserved on the parade ground, was stretched across the river in the hope of blocking the progress of the British men-of-war, and a series of fortifications, planned by the great Polish soldier, Kosciusko, were erected on the site of the present academy.
Thaddeus Kosciusko (1746-1817) had a romantic and picturesque career.
An intended elopement with Ludwika, daughter of the Grand Hetman, Sosnowski of Sosnowica, was discovered by the Hetman's retainers. In the fight that followed, Kosciusko was badly wounded and flung from the house. Shortly afterwards he left for America, where, as he had been well grounded in military science, Washington soon promoted him to the rank of colonel of artillery and made him his adjutant. Kosciusko especially distinguished himself in the operations about N.Y.C. and at Yorktown, and Congress conferred upon him a number of substantial rewards. He returned to his native land to participate in the gallant but unsuccessful effort to free Poland (1794), and is now celebrated among the Poles as one of their greatest heroes.
At West Point were the fortifications that Benedict Arnold, their commander in 1780, agreed to betray into British hands.
Benedict Arnold (1741-1801) was, before his disgrace, perhaps the most brilliant officer and one of the most honored in the American army. It is true that shortly before he took command at West Point a court martial had directed Washington to reprimand him for two trivial offenses, but Washington couched the reprimand in words that were almost praise. The court martial had been ordered by Congress, against which Arnold had expressed his indignation for what he regarded as its mistaken policies in respect to the war. This conflict with Congress, together with certain vexatious circumstances, rising out of his command in Philadelphia--he had gone heavily into debt--led him into a secret correspondence with the British general, Sir Henry Clinton, and he asked for the assignment to West Point for the very purpose of betraying this strategic post into the hands of the British.
In order to perfect the details of the plot, Clinton's adjutant-general, Maj. John Andr['e], met him near Stony Point on the night of the 21st of Sept. In the meantime, the man-of-war, "Vulture," upon which Andr['e] had arrived, was forced to move farther downstream to avoid an impromptu bombardment by American patriots. As a result Andr['e] had to start back to N.Y. by land. He bore a pass issued by Arnold, but he made the fatal mistake of changing to civilian clothes. Technically, therefore, he was a spy. At Tarrytown he was challenged by three Continentals; he offered them a purse of gold, a valuable watch, or anything they might name if they would permit him to proceed to N.Y.C. His offers were rejected and the incriminating papers were found in his boots. He was carried before the commanding officer of the lines, who, not suspecting his superior could be involved, notified Arnold. The latter was at breakfast with Washington's aides; pretending he had an immediate call from across the river, he jumped from the table, told his wife enough to cause her the greatest consternation, mounted a horse and rode to a barge which took him to the "Vulture." In spite of the protest and entreaties of Sir Henry Clinton and the threats of Arnold the unfortunate Andr['e], against whose character no suspicion was ever uttered, was hanged at Tappan, Oct. 2, 1780.
Maj. Andr['e] was 29 years old at the time, and his fate aroused universal sympathy. It is said that Washington himself, whom some historians censure because he did not save Andr['e], wept upon hearing the circumstances of his death, but under military law his execution was inevitable. Arnold, however, escaped the punishment he so richly merited. He was commissioned brigadier-general in the British army and received L6,315 for his property losses. He was employed in several operations during the remaining period of the war but later when he went to England he met with neglect and scorn that probably hastened his death. In 1821 Andr['e]'s remains were taken to England and interred there; at the same time a memorial was erected in Westminster Abbey.
The picture was drawn by Andr['e] without the aid of a looking-glass on the morning of the day fixed for his execution. A respite of twenty-four hours was, however, given. To Maj. Tomlinson, then acting as officer of the guard, Andr['e] presented the sketch.]
Some time later Washington recommended West Point to Congress as a site for a military school, but it was not until 1802 that the academy was established. There are many notable memorials of early days and distinguished soldiers here.
By far the greater number of America's distinguished generals and soldiers since the War of Independence have been graduates of West Point. These include U. S. Grant, Philip Henry Sheridan, William Sherman, George P. McClellan, Thomas J. (Stonewall) Jackson (Confederate), Robert E. Lee (Confederate) and Richard Henry Anderson (Confederate). Grant was appointed to West Point in 1839; he was a good horseman and good in mathematics, but graduated in 21t place in a class of 39. Sherman, on the other hand, stood near the head of his class when he graduated in 1839. Lee was commissioned in the engineering corps upon his graduation in 1829. The most notable commanding officers in the American army during the World War, including, of course, Gen. Pershing, were West Point graduates; the most conspicuous exception, perhaps, was Maj.-Gen. Leonard Wood, who began his career as a surgeon.
Above the cliff and towards the north and east of the plain is Fort Clinton; on its east front stands a monument erected in 1828 by the Corps of Cadets to Kosciusko, while "Flirtation Walk," on the river side of the academy, leads to Kosciusko Garden, so named because it was much frequented by the Polish hero. On the parade ground is Victory Monument (78 ft. high), erected in 1874 as a Civil War memorial. The library--one of the finest military libraries in existence--contains interesting memorials by Saint Gaudens to J. McNeil Whistler and Edgar Allan Poe, both of whom were cadets at the academy and both of whom were virtually expelled.
Poe's neurotic temperament had led him into a number of escapades, but he gave evidence of improvement after he enlisted in the American Army at Boston in 1827. He served two years, and was promoted sergeant-major. He was then 20 years old, and on the basis of his army record, his uncle, John Allan, obtained for him an appointment to West Point. As a student he showed considerable facility for mathematics, but he incurred the displeasure of his superiors by neglect of duty, and was expelled in 1830, one year after he had been admitted. His temperament was of course unsuited to West Point discipline. The military discipline of the academy was equally odious to Whistler, the painter (1834-1903), who was dismissed and transferred to the United States coast survey. In his third year Whistler failed in chemistry. Col. Larned, one of his instructors, gives the incident thus--"Whistler was called up for examination in the subject of chemistry, which also covered the studies of mineralogy and geology, and given silicon to discuss. He began: 'I am required to discuss the subject of silicon. Silicon is a gas,' 'That will do, Mr. Whistler,' and he retired quickly to private life. Whistler later said: 'Had silicon been a gas, I would have been a major-general.'"
High above the academy on Mount Independence (490 ft.) still stands the ruins of old Ft. Putnam, one of the original fortifications, from which a magnificent view can be obtained of the academy, the river, and the surrounding country.
Our route now lies across a peninsula called Constitution Island, which is the site of a preparatory school for West Point.
For many years the Island was the home of the Misses Anna and Susan Warner, authors of "The Wide, Wide World," and other stories popular with children. Through the generosity of Miss Susan Warner, who survived her sister, and Mrs. Russell Sage, the island was presented to the government a few years ago, and is now part of West Point.
We pass on the west bank Crow's Nest Mt. (1,396 ft.) associated with Joseph Rodman Drake's fanciful poem, _The Culprit Fay_. Two M. farther we leave the Highlands through the "Golden Gate," where Storm King Mt. rises to a height of 1,340 ft. on the west side of the Hudson, and Breakneck Mt. to a height of 1,365 ft. on the other. Near Storm King a tunnel of the great new Catskill aqueduct, carrying water to N.Y.C., passes under the Hudson at a depth of 1,100 ft.--a depth made necessary to reach solid rock at the bottom.